Brake-shoe



W. B. SPROUL.

BRAKE SHOE. APPLICATION FILED JAN- 3.1920.

1 ,355,708. Patented Oct. 12,1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

W. B. SPROUL.

' BRAKE SHOE. APPLICATION FILED JAN- 3|1920.

Patented "0a. 12, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. SPROUL, OF LANSFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

' nnAKE-sHoE.

scription of the invention, such as will en-v able others skilled in theart towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

This lnventlon relates to new and useful improvements in braking devicesfor railway cars and has for its primary object the provision of meanswhereby a pair of wheels of a car can be held against rotation therebyretarding the descent of a caron a steep grade or hill and also willprevent the nonrotating wheels from contacting or sliding on the railsof the track,v thus obviating.

wear to the wheels and the liability of them becoming flat.

Another object of this invention is the provision of brake shoes adaptedto operate in pairs and which can be easily and conveniently applied tothe wheels and rails of the track and when applied or in use willprevent the wheels to which they are ap' plied from coming out ofalinement with the rails of the track thus preventing the car fromjumping the track.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a brake shoe ofthe above stated character, which shall be simple, durable, andeflicient, and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively lowcost.

With these and other objects in'view as will become more apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel featuresof construction, combination, and arrangement of parts as will behereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had tothe following description and accompanying drawings. in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railway car illustrating brake shoesapplied to V Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct, 12,1920;Application filed January 3, 1920. Serial-No. 349,195. I

a. pair of wheels thereof and which are constructed in accordance withmy invention,

Fig. 2- is a side elevation of one of the brake shoes,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same,

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation illustrating the inclination of the rear endof the shoe.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2,and

Fig. 6 is a similar view taken on the line e c of Fig. 2. r

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numerals 1 and 2 indicate brakeshoes adapted to be positioned upon the rails 3 of a track 4 with a pairof wheels 5 of a railway car 6 thereon so that the rotation of saidwheels is prevented thereby retarding the speed of the car on a steepgrade or hill and also preventing the non-rotating wheels fromcontacting or sliding on the rails 3 of the'track f which prevents thewheels from wearing or becoming fiat. The brake shoes 1 and 2 areidentical in construction, and reference to one in detail is thought tobe sufficient for both.

The brake shoe consists of a base 7 which has formed upon one end a stopor wheel engaging element 8 while its other end is beveled to form aninclined face 9 to permit a wheel of the car to readily roll upon thebody into engagement with the stop 8. The stop 8 is formed by extendingthe end of the body 7 and curving the same upwardly, rearwardly, anddownwardly, and which presents a curved face 10 to the stop to conformto the periphery of the wheel. A downwardly depending flange 11 isformed upon one edge of the body 7 to prevent said body from slidinglaterally'of the rails when placed thereon and is disposed against theinner face of said rails.

The end of the flange 11 that terminates with the beveled end 9 of thebody is disposed on an incline as illustrated at 12 so as not tointerfere with the wheel rolling onto said body. 7

An L-shaped flange 14 is formed upon one edge of the stop to engage theouter side face of the car wheel and a flange 15 V and to the rails of atrack so that said wheels are held against rotation and away from enwa'r dly of the shoe for the purpose of removing any obstacle that maybe on the rails of the track.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings,

it will'be noted that a braking device has been provided which can bereadil and conveniently applied to a pair of w eels of a car gagementwith the rails, thereby obviating any danger of the wheels becoming flator worn and also obviating the use of employing the ordinary brakes on acar when descending a steep hill or by locking the Wheels in otherheretofore known manners which have proven very unsatisfactory owing tothe great amount of wear on the wheels as they slide along the rails.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction,combination, and arrangement of parts, may be made without departingfrom the spirit, and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaimis:-'-*

l. A braking device comprising a pair of shoes adapted to be positionedon the rails of a track with thewheels of a car thereon, stops formed'onsaid shoes for engagement with the periphery of the wheels, means onsaid stops for preventing lateral movement of the wheels in relation tothe shoes, guiding means formed on the shoes for engagement with therails, and wedge-shaped elements carried by the stops for removingobstacles from the rails. 7

2. A brake shoe comprising a body having one end tapered, a stop formedon the other end of said body andfhaving a-curved face to engage theperiphery of the car wheels, a flange formed on said body and'adaptedto: engage the side face of a rail, an L -shaped flange formed on saidstops and adapted to engage one sideface of the car'wheels, a

flange formed on the other edge of the stops and having a recess toreceive the flange of r the car wheel and also to engage the other faceof the carwheels.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two wltnesses.

WILLIAM B. sPR'oUL.

Witnesses:

FRANK P. SHARKEY, ll/IIOHAEL HARTNEADY.

